The 2026 NFL Draft class is NOT considered a good one for running backs … with one big-time exception: Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love. The 20-year-old talent dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged his way to 3,476 total yards and 42 touchdowns during his three years in South Bend—and now he looks a lot like a top-10 draft pick and future fantasy football star.

Today, we'll get to know Love a bit better by breaking down five cool things about the electric game-breaking talent, including:

• How we got here: Missouri's Finest
• Biggest strengths: America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed
• Three cool stats: Ball security = job security
• Causes for concern: Won't be confused with Brandon Jacobs
• Fun facts: A star since day one

And of course, we'll finish things off with several provocative comps that will hopefully get the people going.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

NFL Draft Scouting Report For Jeremiyah Love | RB

How Jeremiyah Love Got Here: Missouri's Finest

Love was a consensus four-star, top-100 recruit coming out of Missouri. The Under Armour All-American captured 2022 Missouri MaxPreps and Gatorade Player of the Year honors on his way to leading Christian Brothers to back-to-back state championships. A multi-sport athlete, Love also competed in track and even won the Missouri Class 5 state title in the 100 meters with a time of 10.76 seconds.

And then Love got to Notre Dame, where he served as Audric Estime's backup for one season before working as THE running back, y'all. All sorts of big-time numbers followed—including a school-record 21 total touchdowns as a junior—as did highlights showcasing Love's game-breaking speed and video game-worthy moves in the open field.

• 6'0", 212 pounds, 4.36-second 40-yard dash
• 2025: 199 carries-1,372 yards-19 TD rushing, 27 receptions-280 yards-3 TD receiving
• 2025 Heisman Finalist, Doak Walker Award Winner, Unanimous All-American
• Mock draft projection: No. 4 overall to the Titans

Jeremiyah Love's Biggest Strengths: America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed

There are a myriad of factors that have Love in the conversation as one of college football's most exciting running back prospects in recent memory. Here are three!

Deep bag of moves to make defenders miss: Good luck getting Love to the ground in the open field. His spin move is lethal, and the man has even hit the Reggie Bush step back on a few occasions. Still, Love's ability to jump over other human beings stands out as his signature move. I can't remember another collegiate RB hitting this many CLEAN hurdles in a single career.

Home-run speed: Watching Love's film produces big play after big play after big play. The only Golden Domer to ever have multiple rushing plays north of 90 yards, Love is truly a threat to take the ball the distance anytime he gets his hands on it. Overall, his 11.6% explosive run rate (15+ yards) was the highest mark among 69 Power Four RBs with at least 150 carries last season.

More than capable of working across all three downs: Love's rushing ability certainly isn't in question, but the man is also quite adept at positively influencing the offense on passing downs. There are countless examples on film of Love turning a simple short checkdown into an explosive first down, and he was charged with allowing just five pressures (and no sacks!) on 120 career pass-blocking snaps. That's good for a pressure rate allowed of just 4.2%, the best mark among some of the most notable names in the 2026 RB class! Love generally did all the little things well during his career.

Three Cool Jeremiyah Love Stats: Ball security = job security

Three more cool stats and facts about Love that line up with what you'll see from watching him play:

• Cool shit: I made up a stat called "Cool Shit" that is an RB's total touchdowns, explosive plays, and tackles avoided divided by their carries and targets. The top-two draft-eligible Power Four RBs with 100+ opportunities in 2025 were … Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love!
• Ball security = job security: Love racked up 495 career touches and had just *one* charged fumble from PFF. This is one of the best career fumble rates of any RB in the 2026 class.
• Receiving goodness: While Love "only" caught 63 passes for 594 yards across his three seasons at Notre Dame, he looks the part of someone capable of tapping more into this ability at the next level. He flashed some big-time ability with this one-handed snag and looked very comfortable running routes from the slot.

Causes For Concern with Jeremiyah Love: Won't be confused with Brandon Jacobs

Of course, as is the case with any prospect, there are some potential red-ish flags to concern yourself with here.

Never handled 200+ carries in a season: Notre Dame was a bit hesitant to put too much on Love's plate. This could simply be due to having other backs like Audric Estime and Jadarian Price around to help shoulder the load. You could also argue that the lack of wear and tear is a net positive entering the NFL.

Not a big-time pile pusher up the middle: Love isn't small–he's 6'0" 212 pounds–but his 28.7 BMI is just in the 24th percentile among running backs. The man is more of a lean slasher than a bulldozer. While Love is still more than willing to be his own blocker and run tough into the teeth of the defense, don't expect him to constantly be falling forward for an extra 2-3 yards against professional competition.

Fun Jeremiyah Love Facts: A Star Since Day 1

Four facts of the fun variety about Mr. Love:

• Loves anime and that influenced him to create his own comic book series titled "Jeremonstar." Yes, that features himself.
• Dad is a Steelers fan who does NOT like the Cowboys.
• Took additional official visits to Alabama, Michigan and Texas A&M before choosing the Fighting Irish.
• Scored a 70-yard TD on his first run ever in peewee football.

Jeremiyah Love NFL Draft Player Comps

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for: My favorite comps for Love:

• Gen-Z Reggie Bush
• Clemson Travis Etienne
• Guitar riff from Money or Nothing

Best of luck to Mr. Love on his NFL journey, and thank you all for reading!

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